Worse Than We Thought
by Anime Girl23
Summary: DISCONTINUED! Set after Teach Me Tonight. When Jess suddenly collapses in the middle of the diner with a high fever, panic sets in. Was it the fever or was there something in the accident that no one noticed? Literati and JavaJunkie!
1. Wrong All Along

Okay! I had, had this in one of my notebooks, but my mom decided to remodel my room while I was at school and now all my notebooks are missing. I'm going to try and do this from memory. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: What do you think!

Worse Than We Thought

Chapter 1

Wrong All Along

_**Apartment**_

"Jess! Wake up!" Luke yelled as he pounded on Jess' door. "Your shift started an hour ago!"

"Yeah, yeah," Jess' voice came from the other side of the door. After about five minutes Jess opened his door and lightly pushed past Luke as he headed out. _Probably still half asleep_, Luke thought shrugging off the worry that filled his mind for a moment.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_ Jess asked himself as he leaned against the wall trying to catch his breath. Shaking his head quickly he winced as he felt a pain shoot through his head. Weakly pushing himself off the wall he took a moment to steady himself before he slowly walked down the stairs.

"Hey, Jess," Rory said with a small smile as she walked in.

"Hey," Jess said, mentally wincing as he saw the cast on her arm.

Looking out the window she shook her head. "Hold on a second," she said standing. Walking out of the diner Jess laughed lightly as he watched Rory grab her mother's arm and drag her in.

"Go ahead up," Jess said nodding towards the door. Seeing Lorelai glare at him he sent her an equal glare and watched as she headed up.

"They'd better make up," Rory said.

"Or make out," Jess said seeing Rory glare at him slightly. "What? Luke's been waiting years. It's obvious."

"Shut up," Rory said leaning over and slapping him on the head. Hearing him gasp in pain she looked at him worried. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just a headache."

"Take an aspirin."

"I did. I'm just waiting for it to kick in," Jess lied. _It's probably nothing anyway_, Jess thought.

"Okay," Rory said shrugging. Seeing her mom walk down she smiled slightly. "So? How'd it go?"

"We made up," Lorelai said smiling. Rushing over to her daughter she whispered, "He kissed me."

"Really!" Rory exclaimed trying to keep her voice in check. "Tell me about it all later. I have school." Standing she walked out the door and headed towards the bus stop.

"Rory!"

"Hey, Lane," Rory said smiling as she saw her friend run towards her.

"How's the arm?"

"It's okay," Rory said shrugging.

"Well, here," Lane said handing her friend an Emily The Strange sticker. "Angry girl for an angry arm."

"Thanks," Rory said laughing as Lane put the sticker on. Seeing her bus drive up she grabbed her bag. "Later."

"Later," Lane said as she grabbed her own bag and headed towards her own school.

_**Chilton**_

"Hey, Rory," Paris said nodding at her friend as she walked up to her in the hall.

"Hey, Paris."

"What happened to your arm?" Madeline asked.

"Huh?" Rory said forgetting about her cast for a moment. "Car accident. I hit it on the dash."

"Who were you in a car accident with?" Louise asked suddenly very interested. "Your boyfriend?"

"No," Rory said shaking her head. "I'd been with my friend Jess. I was tutoring him and we went for an ice cream break. He swerved to miss an animal and we…well crashed."

"Wait," Paris said suddenly. "As in the Jess that showed up at your house with that care package that night when your mom was away?"

"What! Rory Gilmore! You had a boy at your house when your mom was away?" Louise asked. "That's a side we haven't seen."

"Paris was over too," Rory said.

"Get that look off your faces," Paris snapped.

"Yeah, yeah," Madeline said nodding.

"We have class. Let's go," Paris said as she dragged her friends to their English Literature class.

_**After School**_

"Hey, babe," Lorelai said as she saw Rory step off the bus. Handing her daughter a cup of coffee she saw Rory nod in thanks.

"Hey, Mom."

"How was school?" Lorelai asked as they began on the trek to Luke's.

"Okay," Rory said shrugging. "Louise and Madeline think me and Paris had a threesome with Jess."

"What!" Lorelai exclaimed suddenly. "And how did this happen?"

"Remember when you went to the spa? I told you how Jess came over with a care package. Well, when I told them who I was with in the accident Paris decided to bring that up and ta-da."

"Wow," Lorelai said laughing. "Those two have quite a mind."

"Oh, yeah," Rory said nodding. Walking into Luke's they both took their usual table.

"Coffee!" Lorelai yelled waving her cup like a mad man…or woman.

"Luke! Problem!" Caesar yelled from the kitchen.

"What now?" Luke yelled back. Going over to Jess, who was sitting with his head in his arms, he hit him on the back of his head to get his attention. "Jess, go give those crazy people their coffee."

Slowly pushing himself up from his spot he took a moment and grabbed the coffee pot. Walking around the counter he headed towards the Gilmores until his vision suddenly blurred. Stopping he raised his hand to his head. _What the hell is going on?_

"Jess, are you okay?" Rory asked worried.

"Yeah, I'm-" Jess began before he collapsed to the floor.

"Jess!" Rory exclaimed knocking her chair back as she rushed to his side.

"Luke!" Lorelai yelled as she too rushed to Jess' side.

"Jess, wake up! Mom, what's going on!"

"I don't know, Rory," Lorelai said as she placed her hand on Jess' forehead. Quickly taking it away she hissed. "He's burning up. God, where is he? Luke!"

"What?" Luke yelled back sticking his head out. Seeing his nephew lying on the floor he rushed over. "What happened!"

"We don't know," Lorelai said shaking her head. "He was walking over, he stopped for a second, and then he just collapsed. He has a bad fever."

Feeling Jess' forehead himself he winced at the heat. "You're right." Looking up he yelled, "Someone call for an ambulance! Screw the no cell phone rule!"

Taking out her cell phone Lorelai quickly dialed 911 when she noticed that they were the only ones in the diner. Giving them the details she waited a moment before taking the phone off her ear. "They'll be here soon."

"Wait," Rory suddenly said. "Do you think that this has anything to do with the accident?"

"I don't know," Luke said as he watched Rory place Jess' head in her lap.

"I see the ambulance!" Lorelai suddenly said as she opened the door to let them in.

"What happened?" a young, male paramedic asked as he checked Jess' pulse. Nodding as Rory explained he made a confirming nod to his female partner. "Has anything happened recently that could have caused this?"

"We were in a car accident yesterday, but the doctors gave him a clean bill of health," Rory said.

Kneeling down, the female paramedic placed a thermometer into his ear and waited a moment for it to beep. "Fever's 105.6. The collapse could have been from the fever or an injury that got overlooked in the accident. He's going to need these cuts stitched too," she said pointing to the cuts made from the broken coffee pot.

Bringing the stretcher in the male paramedic nodded to his partner and they slowly lifted Jess out of Rory's lap and onto the waiting stretcher. Before shutting the ambulance doors the male paramedic turned to the three. "One of you can fit in here."

"You go, Luke," Lorelai said seeing Rory nod beside her. Watching Luke nod and follow the paramedics and ride off hearing the sirens blaring she sighed.

"What is with all the sirens this week!" Taylor suddenly yelled coming out from the market.

"Bye, Taylor," Lorelai and Rory said in unison before laughing lightly.

"Mom, can you pick me up at Lane's? I was supposed to meet her later. I just want her to know what's going on," Rory explained.

"Sure, babe," Lorelai said nodding. Hugging her daughter she kissed her forehead before pulling away. "I'm gonna run back to the house and grab the Jeep. Pray Mommy doesn't break her ankle as she runs."

"Starting now," Rory said nodding and laughing as she watched her mother turn and begin to run, with much difficulty from her heels. "Good luck!"

"Gonna need it!" Lorelai yelled back as her ankle bent in and she stumbled. "I'm okay!" she yelled back as she continued to run.

"Good!" Rory yelled as she laughed. Turning, she crossed the street and went in past the gates to take her into Kim's Antiques. Opening the door she called for her friend. "Lane!"

"Rory?" Lane yelled back. "That you?"

"Yeah, where are you?"

"By the chairs!"

"Please, don't say you're serious," Rory pleaded as she looked around at the millions of chairs in the store.

"Yeah," Lane's voice yelled back as she laughed. "Um…chairs to your…right. Left Street."

"Gotcha," Rory yelled back laughing as she remembered the days her and Lane had used making their own map of the store. They had named the aisles as streets once they left the main entrance. Heading down Left Street she continues until she reached the first fork. "Wood or Metal?"

"Wood," Lane called back. "Then, go down Desk Set Boulevard!"

After a couple of minutes Rory finally caught sight of her friend's raven black hair. "Hey," she greeted.

"Hey," Lane said turning to her friend smiling. But, once she saw her friend's swollen and red eyes her smile deflated. "What's wrong?"

"Didn't you hear the sirens?" Rory asked chucking slightly as she remembered Taylor's aggravation.

"Yeah," Lane said nodding. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Because…Jess is the reason the ambulance was even here."

"Why? What happened?"

"We don't know," Rory said shaking her head. "He just passed out and he wouldn't wake up. My mom ran back to the house to get the Jeep and then we're heading to the hospital. Um…I was wondering…would you come with me? I mean like Luke's going to have my mom and-"

"Yeah," Lane said nodding. "Let me just ask dear, old, Mama Kim." Standing she walked out and returned just a minute later nodding. "I just told her this was there big emergency."

"Thanks," Rory said hugging her friend. Hearing her mom honk the horn of the Jeep she separated from her longtime best friend.

"Let's go," Lane said grabbing Rory's hand and leading her to the door and to Lorelai's car.

"Hey, Lane," Lorelai said as the two friends climbed into the car. "You coming too?"

"Yeah," Lane said nodding. "Is it okay?"

"Absolutely, no problem," Lorelai said shaking her head. Driving onto the highway they began the half hour trip to Hartford.

_**Hartford Memorial**_

"Thank God," Rory mumbled as she jumped out of the now parked car. Quickly slamming the door she took a moment to stare at the hospital she had visited just the day before. "Why don't I just move here?" she mumbled to herself.

"Do and I'll give you a reason to be here long term," Lorelai said slapping her daughter on the arm lightly. Walking through the first set of doors they continued until they were met with a heap of flannel and a baseball cap. Seeing Luke sitting with his head in his hands she asked worriedly, "Did you get any news?"

"No, not yet," Luke said shaking his head. "I'm worried, though. On the way here his fever just shot up even higher."

"Higher?" Rory echoed amazed. "How could it get any higher?"

"I didn't think it could either," Luke said shrugging sadly.

"What was it at the diner?" Lane asked.

"105.6," Lorelai said.

"Then, what could it have risen to?" Lane asked, her eyes widening.

"107.8," Luke said shaking his head. "Just…how could no one have noticed that he had gotten so sick? I live in the same apartment as him!"

Placing her arm around his shoulders Lorelai gently hugged him. "It's not your fault, Luke. I mean, no offence to Jess, but he isn't the kind of guy that would go up to you and whine about not being able to go to school because he wasn't feeling well. He probably just thought it was a cold or something and didn't check his temperature. He was in the diner all day."

"Yeah," Luke said nodding. "You're right." Stopping he smiled slightly. "Actually, he wasn't at school because he was suspended."

"I thought so," Lane said. "I heard one of the teachers fuming. What'd he do?"

"His history teacher had to go on maternity leave so the whole class just got split up and put into different ones. And, lucky Jess got Carmella-"

"Wait," Rory suddenly interrupted. "That old history teacher that made me cry in my freshman year?"

"Oh, my God," Lorelai moaned. "That man was such a bastard!"

"One and the same," Luke said nodding. "Well, on the first day with him the teacher decided that Jess' Clash T-shirt was 'too tight for a boy' and Jess shot back at him that he was just mad because if he tried to wear the shirt then his Santa stomach would rip it into shreds. And obviously Carmella just got plain pissed."

"At least someone finally put her in him place," Lane said smiling.

"Yeah," Luke said nodding. "That was the one time I wasn't mad at him for getting suspended."

"Of course," Lorelai said.

"It's so worth it," Rory said laughing slightly. Suddenly quieting down as if remembering why they were even at the hospital. Sighing she leaned into her mother's chest and felt Lorelai wrap her arms around her. "Here we are laughing and for all we know…"

"He'll be okay, Rory," Lorelai said. Looking down at Rory she let one arm go to the pocket and bring out a bunch of one dollar bills. "Why don't you and Lane go down to the vending machines? Bring back some drinks and something to eat. I don't think we can trust the food here no matter how much money the Gilmores have put into this place."

Laughing slightly Rory nodded and took the money. "We'll be back in a little, because we have absolutely no idea of where the machines are."

Grabbing her Rory's arm Lane pulled her friend to her feet. "And, off we go."

After the girls left Lorelai turned to Luke and placed her hand on his own. "He'll be okay, Luke."

"Do you know that? Are you a doctor now?" Luke snapped. Suddenly, realizing what he did he looked at Lorelai in guilt. "I'm sorry, Lor. I-"

"I know, Luke," Lorelai said. "You're scared and nervous. You have every right to be."

"Now, I know how you felt yesterday. I mean I was scared yesterday, but not this bad. I mean he wasn't…_here_," he said throwing his arm up to show what he meant. "Lor, I really do think of him as my son."

"I know," Lorelai said nodding. "It shows." Looking down at her watch she glared at it as if it were a sign saying coffee was outlawed forever. "I have to call my darling parents. I'll be back in a second okay?"

"Yeah," Luke said nodding.

Standing Lorelai headed down the hall a little ways until she was out of Luke's hearing range she took out her phone and dialed the number to her parent's house.

"Gilmore residence."

"Hi," Lorelai said. "This is Lorelai, the darling daughter to Emily and Richard." _We may be at a hospital, but hey, this is me._

"One moment, please," the maid, before Lorelai heard the sound of the phone being set down.

"Lorelai?" Emily asked picking up the phone.

"Hey, Mom," Lorelai said. _I really should have thought about how I'd say this. She's going to flip if I want to skip for a kid I hate._

"Where are you?"

"Um…it's a funny story really…" Lorelai began slowly.

"Where are you, Lorelai?"

"The hospital-"

"What! Are you alright!"

"Yes, Mom; I'm fine."

"It's Rory then. What happened!"

"Rory's fine too, Mom," Lorelai said as she felt a headache coming on.

"Then, why are you at a hospital!"

"Jess collapsed, Mom."

"Jess? You mean that boy? The diner man's nephew?"

"Yes," Lorelai said. "We were all at the diner and he just collapsed. He had a high fever, but they weren't sure if it was from that or from the accident-"

"What accident?" Emily asked interrupting Lorelai once again.

"There was one yesterday. Rory was tutoring Jess and they went for ice cream. Rory was reading and Jess was driving and they swerved to miss an animal. Rory hit her wrist against the dash and got a wicked small fracture," Lorelai said. _Now that I think about it, it wasn't really Jess' fault. He just didn't want to kill an animal._

"Are you sure she's okay?" Emily asked, amazing Lorelai that her mother wasn't blowing up about Jess.

"She's going to wear the cast for two weeks then she's free."

"Good," Emily said sighing in relief.

"Mom, I called because I just wanted to ask if you would mind if we skipped dinner this week. I'm worried about Luke and I don't want to leave him alone. Rory's freaking out too."

"And, why is she freaking out? It's not like she loves the boy, Lorelai."

"I think she might, Mom. I really do," Lorelai said.

"And, what about that other boy?"

"I don't know, Mom."

After a moment Emily replied. "All right. We'll see you next Friday. Good-bye, Lorelai."

"Bye, Mom," Lorelai said hanging up.

"Mom!" Rory's voice came from her right. Looking up she saw her daughter running at her with a mask of panic covering her face.

"What is it, babe?" Lorelai asked as Rory stopped in front of her.

"The…the a…accident," Rory said between pants. Finally, catching her breath she stared at Lorelai with tear filled eyes. "He did get hurt."

TBC

Anime Girl23: Done! Okay, this is totally different from my original version, but I think it's better like this. The last version was a little too rushed.

Jess: So you're going to do the same thing you did in the last story. Torture me.

Anime Girl23: Yes, well you have to deal with it:P

Jess: Like I say every time. I hate you.

Anime Girl23: No, you don't:P Now, everyone! Please go down and press the little purple button that says "GO!" and leave a review!

Note: Please don't flame me. But, if you really want to make me sad then your flames will be used to burn my evil history teacher. The teacher in this chapter was based on my own teacher that hated my outfit (I was showing less than a half inch of skin) and she sent me down to the office. And, when I got to my next class I did start to cry. She had just been so evil. Well, bye! See you all in the next chapter!


	2. Remembering

Hey! Okay, I reread this during class today and I just had to get chapter 2 started! Screw homework! Gilmore Girls is more important!

Disclaimer: I wish I owned it, but I don't.

Worse Than We Thought

Chapter 2

Remembering

_**Hospital**_

"He did get hurt? What do you mean?" Lorelai asked as she saw a tear fall down Rory's face.

"In the accident; I remember hearing him scream. When I asked him if he was okay he said that he'd hit his head against the window pretty hard. After the accident I looked at the window. Mom, the window was totally shattered…I don't know. I should have put two and two together."

"Woah…hard head," Lorelai said after a moment.

"Mom!"

"I couldn't resist."

"Mom, shouldn't we tell the doctors?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, wouldn't be able to help them figure out what's going on?" Lane asked.

"Yeah," Lorelai said nodding. "Let's head back." Walking back to Luke she quickly told him what Rory had just told her. Watching him stand and go to the main desk she waited as he conversed with the nurse for a few minutes before heading back over. "Well?"

"She just said she'd let them know," Luke said sending a glare at the nurse. "She wouldn't even give me an update."

"Why not?" Rory asked.

"I don't know," Luke said shaking his head. Slumping back into his seat he took the cup of tea that Rory offered.

"Shouldn't we call Liz? I mean legally she _is_ his guardian," Lorelai said.

"Not anymore."

"What do you mean?" Lane asked Luke, tilting her head slightly.

"Last week she sent the papers over. She signed custody over to me."

"Are you serious!" Rory exclaimed. "She just abandoned her son!"

"Pretty much," Luke said. "She said that if she was going to get her life back on track she wouldn't be able to do it with a kid like Jess around."

"What kind of mother would do that?" Lorelai asked disgusted.

"The Liz kind," Luke said angrily.

"Luke-" Lorelai began.

"It's just…I feel bad for him. His dad deserted him the day he was born and his mom, though my sister, is an awful mother."

"Um…Luke," Lane began. "I don't know…I've just been wondering for a while. Was the first time you saw or even met him when he got off the bus?"

"No, actually," Luke said shaking his head. "I'm not surprised you guys don't remember. The last time he was in Stars Hollow he was…oh, God…um…about 6. I used to keep in touch with them over the phone and he knew about the town and everything. One day he just ran away and took a bus to town. It was summer so I was able to convince Liz to let him stay the summer."

"I remember!" Rory exclaimed suddenly. "Lane! Remember! JJ!"

"Oh, my God! Jess was JJ!" Lane exclaimed laughing.

"JJ?" Lorelai asked looking at her daughter and Lane strangely.

"We used to call him JJ to annoy him," Rory informed her mother. Seeing her mother's eyes light up in realization she smiled.

"Oh, yeah! I called him Messy Jessie because of his hair!" Lorelai said as she began to laugh. "It's still so curly!"

"But, not as bad," Luke said chuckling. "Poor kid got the uncontrollable mess from the Danes side."

"Poor kid is right," Lorelai said. "No wonder he spends so much time doing his hair."

"Excuse me?" a voice asked, catching the group's attention. "You're here for Jess Mariano, correct?"

"Yeah," Luke said nodding his head frantically. "What happened?"

"It's not that rare that head injuries don't show themselves for a day or two, which is what happened with Jess," the doctor explained. "In the accident he received a serious injury when he hit his head. It caused serious internal bleeding to his brain. We're guessing he had been sick before the accident and as the fever worsened it made the head injury worse because it went unnoticed. The fever had made him too weak to notice that something other than the cold was wrong."

"Is he okay?" Lorelai asked having a feeling the doctor was trying to hold back something.

"He's stable," the doctor said. "But…he's slipped into a coma."

"He…what?" Rory asked, stumbling with her words. Feeling her knees buckle under her she felt Lane help steady her.

"When will he wake up?" Lane asked.

"It can never be sure with comas," the doctor said shaking her head sadly. "It could range anywhere from a few hours to a few years. Usually if the person doesn't wake up after three months most doctors start to talk to the family about stopping the medications. Some people just can't pay the bills, so they're forced to. Or it just gets too hard for them to see a loved one like that."

"We're not going to do that," Lorelai said. "The kid's too stubborn to stay in bed for too long." _I hope._

"Can we see him?" Luke asked.

"Yeah," the doctor said nodding. "Room 1283. Take the elevator to the eleventh floor and take a left. It'll be on your left."

"Thanks, Dr. Martin," Lorelai said. Watching Dr. Martin walk off Lorelai took Luke's hand in hers and saw Lane place a comforting arm around a sobbing Rory's shoulders. Walking towards the elevator the followed the instructions they'd been given and soon found themselves outside of Jess' room.

Placing his hand on the door knob Luke took a deep breath before opening the door. Looking at his usually defiant nephew now lying in a hospital bed Luke felt his heart break. _Jess…_

Walking over to Jess' side Rory sat herself down in one of the chairs beside Jess' bed. Taking his limp hand in hers she raised it to her face so his hand rested against her lips. Kissing it lightly she held his hand as if he would disappear should she let go. Watching from the corner of her eye she saw Luke take the seat on Jess' other side and Lorelai and Lane sit on each edge of the bed. "Jess," Rory whispered softly.

"Excuse me," a young nurse said poking her head in the door. Looking at the group sympathetically she said, "I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over."

Nodding Lorelai stood. "Thanks." As the nurse began to exit Lorelai suddenly called out, "Excuse me! Um…when do they start?"

"They start up at noon," the nurse said smiling softly.

"Thanks," Lane said nodding. Grabbing her jacket she turned and felt pity when she saw her best friend nearly in tears. "Ror? You okay?"

"Yeah," Rory said, knowing it wasn't the truth.

"All right…" Grabbing her hand Lane led Rory out the door of Jess' room watching with pity as Rory sent a longing stare towards Jess' unconscious form.

(Okay, I don't know why, but this is so hard for me to write! I feel so bad for him!)

Walking towards the car Rory and Lane climbed into the back and Rory watched Luke climb into the passenger seat, her mother the opposite. _This is just a bad dream. I'll wake up and it'll all be okay. Mom will be fighting with Luke nonstop and Jess will be fine. It's all a dream. Please, please just let this be a dream. _Feeling the car pull to a stop Rory looked up and noticed they were in front of the diner.

"Later," Lane said climbing out.

"Bye, Lane, Luke," Rory said smiling slightly as Lorelai placed a kiss on Luke's lips before he got out. Climbing into the front seat Rory sighed.

"You okay, babe?" Lorelai asked worried. _This is killing her. _"You seemed pretty out of it on the ride back."

"Yeah, I was just thinking," Rory said nodding.

"About Jess?"

"Yeah…It's just…"

"You never thought that Jess would ever be the one to fall into a coma or even be hurt like this?"

"Yeah…and stop finishing my sentences," Rory said looking at Lorelai with a small smile.

"Sorry, babe, but this is what happens when mother and daughter are best friends. We live together, we eat together, we do nearly everything together."

"So I'm stuck?"

"Yup," Lorelai said laughing. "Wanna rent a movie? Get our mind off today?"

"Yeah," Rory said nodding gratefully.

"Nemo?" Lorelai suggested.

"Bubbles," Rory said giggling. Walking Rory fell into her thoughts again. "You know what?"

"What?" Lorelai asked looking at her daughter in question.

"It's ironic."

"What is?"

"Everyone in the town is mad at Jess because we all thought he didn't get hurt in the accident. And the truth is…"

"He got hurt the worse," Lorelai finished.

"Yeah."

Not noticing Miss Patty listening at the corner she hurries after the two. "Girls!"

"Oh, hi, Miss Patty," Rory said faking a smile. _Please don't let her have heard this._

"What were you saying about Jess?"

_Yup, same old nosey self, _Lorelai thought to herself, mentally sighing. "It's nothing."

"Are you sure? Why was there an ambulance?"

"He wasn't feeling well and got weak. We wanted to make sure he was okay," Lorelai said purposely trying to give as little information as possible. _This is going to get so twisted we'll just have to tell everyone what happened. Be good to hold it off a little longer._

"Where is he?" Miss Patty asked, forever prying for information.

"They wanted to keep him overnight. Make sure it's all okay," Rory lied. _I wish._

"Rory and me have to go," Lorelai said. "Movie night."

"All right, "Miss Patty said nodding. "Oh! Before you go, the showing of The Yearling will be in two days. At the crash the area was a little…destroyed. We need some time to patch it up." Not noticing Rory wince at the mention of the crash she waved. "See you soon."

"Bye, Miss Patty." Hurrying Rory into the video store she sighed. "That woman will never stop prying."

"It's Miss Patty."

"And if it wasn't I'd be scared she had a twin." Shuddering at the thought she laughed slightly. "Never going to imagine that again."

"Thank you." Walking over to the Disney section she searched for a minute. "Got it."

"Do you want to skip school tomorrow and do a fifteen movie marathon?" Lorelai asked.

"One movie," Rory said. "I have to go to school tomorrow."

"You sure? After today?" Lorelai asked worried that her daughter was pushing herself too much.

"Yeah," Rory said nodding. "I'm totally freaked, but I have to go back. In the car I'd promised Jess that no matter what I'd get into Harvard. And if I stay out I'll never feel ready to go back."

"All right," Lorelai said giving in. Nodding towards the counter she and Rory walked up. "Hey, Kirk."

"Hello," Kirk said smiling his strange Kirk like smile. "This all?"

"Yup," Lorelai said handing Kirk a nearly destroyed card and a crumpled ten dollar bill.

"Enjoy your movie," Kirk said handing Rory the bag containing the wonderful movie Finding Nemo.

"We will," the two said in unison smiling. Walking out the door they headed towards the Jeep and got in. Driving the short distance to the Gilmore house they climbed out and walked in.

"Give me a second to get changed," Rory said before running to her room. Taking off her uniform she grabbed a pair of flannel PJ pants donning a navy blue sky and silver stars. Pulling a matching navy blue tank top she put her hair into a pony tail before pausing and taking it out. _Jess did compliment it when it was down._ Walking out of her room she grabbed a bag of M&Ms and threw them at her mom. "It's all we have."

"We should have gone to get more," Lorelai mumbled.

"No time."

"Yeah, I know, but what is movie night with just one bag of M&Ms?"

"A bad one, but like I said there was no time. Time to start." Pressing play she leaned against her mom as the movie began. Around two hours later Rory stood and stretched. "Night, Mom."

"Night, babe," Lorelai said as she stood. Kissing Rory on the head she hugged her. "He'll be okay."

"I know," Rory said. _But, it's all my fault._

TBC

Anime Girl23: DONE! I am on a roll!

Jess: And I'm in a coma! Do you have some sick obsession with those!

Anime Girl23: Like you wouldn't believe. Anyway…please review! It'll make me update faster! Until next time!

Ja ne!


	3. In School Breakdown

Hey, everyone! I'm really sorry you've had to wait so long for chapter 3, but I've been busy with school, work, and team practices. Also, I've been working on writing a book so it's had me occupied. Yes, I am fifteen and I am writing a book. My friends say it's actually pretty good so far. Well, anyway…hope you like this chapter!

Disclaimer: If I owned Gilmore Girls, Logan would have gotten his ass kicked by Jess.

Worse Than We Thought

Chapter 3

In School Breakdown

_**Gilmore House**_

"I'm going, Mom," Rory insisted.

It had been going on for the last hour. Lorelai asking her if she really wanted to go and if she wanted to just wanted to skip. Rory understood that Lorelai was worried, but it was really starting to get annoying.

"I'm going to be late." Placing a kiss on her mother's cheek, Rory rushed out the door. Getting to the bus stop right as it pulled up she glanced at the diner quickly before getting on. Sitting in the back, Rory pulled out her copy of _Howl_ which had been in her bag from earlier that week. Opening it she saw the small writing that she recognized as Jess' and felt tears come to her eyes. Closing the book she hid it in a small pocket in her backpack.

---

"Gilmore!"

Turning, Rory saw Paris walking up to her with Louise and Madeline behind her. And did she look livid. "Paris, I thought we were past the whole last name thing."

"Where were you yesterday!"

"Yesterday? What do you…oh, crap," Rory said, remembering the Franklin meeting that she had skipped. "Paris, I am _so_ sorry."

"Well?"

"Well, what?" Rory asked.

"Where were you!" Paris snapped. "You were supposed to pass in your article on how movies aren't being rated properly anymore. Remember?"

"I know, Paris," Rory said. "There was an emergency and I couldn't come."

"And what was it?" Paris asked.

"Je-"

"Hey, Mary."

Rory turned around at the sound of the nickname she hated to see a blonde head and a smirk. It was Tristan.

"What are you doing back here? I thought you got kicked out."

Tristan pretended to be stabbed in the chest. "Harsh, Paris," he said.

Turning back to Rory, Paris repeated her previous question. "So? Where were you?"

"The hospital," Rory said, softly. "The doctors had missed something when they brought Jess in after the accident."

"Is he okay?" Paris asked. She had only seen the two together once, but she wasn't stupid. She knew that Rory had feelings for Jess. Friendly or not, she had feelings for him.

Rory shook her head. "He…he…" Tears slipped past her eyes and she fell to her knees. "He's in a coma," she whispered.

"What?" Louise asked. She hadn't heard.

"She said, he's in a coma," Paris said.

Rory mumbled something.

"What?" Madeline asked.

"It's my fault," Rory said, louder.

"No it isn't," Paris said.

"Yes it is!" Rory exclaimed. "I told him to drive! I told him to turn right! If I hadn't told him to right then the accident wouldn't have happened, because we would have been back in the diner!" With that, Rory fell back into tears.

Tristan didn't say a thing. Some guy had caused Rory to fall into tears and he didn't like it. He was about to say something before another voice reached his ears.

"Is there a problem?"

It was Mr. Medina.

Seeing Rory on the ground, he said, "Call her mother and tell her to pick her up."

Paris nodded, taking Rory's cell phone out of the front pocket of Rory's yellow bag. After a quick conversation with Lorelai, Paris replaced the phone. "She'll be here in five minutes. She was at you grandmother's."

"Would you mind staying here until her mother comes?" Mr. Medina asked.

Paris nodded. Hell, Paris doubted Rory even knew that Mr. Medina was there. She had been crying for the last five minutes, never taking her eyes off the ground.

"After her mother gets here, I want you all back in class. The bell rang twenty minutes ago," Mr. Medina said, before leaving.

Not too long after Lorelai came hurrying down the hall. Gently hugging her daughter, Lorelai said, "Ready to head home and wait for the call from Grandma screaming at your wonderful mommy for letting you come home early?"

Rory gave a laugh that was barely audible.

Mouthing a quick 'Thank you' to the others, Lorelai put Rory's bag on her back and helped her daughter up and out of the school.

"No one saw what happened," Paris said.

Everyone nodded.

TBC

Anime Girl23: Yay! Done!

Jess: Weirdo.

Anime Girl23: Thanks! Anyway, please review!

Until next time!


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